AI Video Pricing in 2026: Per-Second Costs and App Plans
June 22, 2026 · Updated November 1, 2026 · 10 min read
Checked September 30, 2026 (Google and Runway's Veo prices rechecked November 1), one second of AI video costs $0.05 to $0.57 at official API list prices for 720p–1080p output, so a 10-second clip runs $0.50 to $5.69 per attempt. The credit-based apps priced below work out to $0.12–$0.45 per second, ours included: every model on AI Growth Kit costs 10 credits per second, which is $0.245–$0.45 depending on how you buy credits. Your real bill is that rate multiplied by the number of attempts it takes to get a usable shot. If you're pricing an app's own subscription rather than a raw API rate, the plan-by-plan pricing further down this page (Runway, Pika, Luma and AI Growth Kit, checked November 1, 2026) answers that directly.
What changed since June
The first version of this post quoted rough ranges. Every number below was re-checked on September 30, 2026 against each provider's own pages (the Google and Veo rows again on November 1), and three things had moved:
- Sora 2 is gone. OpenAI closed the Sora app in April 2026 and shut down the Sora 2 models and its Videos API for developers on September 24, 2026.
- New versions arrived. ByteDance's BytePlus now prices Seedance 2.5 next to Seedance 2.0. Kling has launched Kling 4.0, but its API packages “currently don't support Kling 4.0,” so the Kling API prices below are for Kling 3.0.
- Veo 3.1 left the Gemini API. Google shut down the Gemini API's Veo 3.1 Standard, Fast and Lite preview endpoints on October 22, 2026 and points developers to Gemini Omni Flash instead. Veo 3.1 and 3.1 Fast remain on Google's Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform, and Runway's API still sells both, so the Veo prices below are Runway's.
Per-second prices at the source
List prices for generating video through each company's own API (or, for Veo, through Runway's), as of September 30, 2026, with the Google and Veo rows rechecked November 1. The last column is one 10-second attempt at those rates.
| Model | Priced by | Price per second | 10-second clip |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gemini Omni Flash | Google Gemini API | ≈$0.10 (720p: 5,792 output tokens per second at $17.50 per million) | ≈$1.01 |
| Veo 3.1 Fast | Runway API | $0.15 with audio · $0.10 without (15 / 10 credits) | $1.00–$1.50 |
| Veo 3.1 | Runway API | $0.40 with audio · $0.20 without (40 / 20 credits) | $2.00–$4.00 |
| Kling 3.0 | Kling API | $0.084 (720p) · $0.112 (1080p) silent; $0.126 · $0.168 with native audio; $0.42 (4K) | $0.84–$1.68 |
| Kling 3.0 Turbo | Kling API | $0.112 (720p) · $0.14 (1080p), native audio included | $1.12–$1.40 |
| Seedance 2.0 Mini | BytePlus ModelArk | $0.08 (720p; no 1080p) | $0.80 |
| Seedance 2.0 Fast | BytePlus ModelArk | $0.12 (720p; no 1080p) | $1.20 |
| Seedance 2.0 | BytePlus ModelArk | $0.15 (720p) · $0.37 (1080p) · $0.78 (4K) | $1.50–$3.70 |
| Seedance 2.5 | BytePlus ModelArk | $0.231 (720p) · $0.569 (1080p) | $2.31–$5.69 |
| Runway Gen-4.5 | Runway API | $0.12 (12 credits at $0.01) | $1.20 |
| Runway Gen-4 Turbo | Runway API | $0.05 — image-to-video only | $0.50 |
| MiniMax H3 | MiniMax API | $0.08 (768p) · $0.13 (2K) | $0.80–$1.30 |
| Sora 2 | OpenAI API | Removed from the API on September 24, 2026 | — |
Sources, checked September 30, 2026: Google's Gemini API pricing page (rechecked November 1; last updated October 30, 2026, it no longer lists Veo, and it bills Omni Flash video by output tokens); Kling's API pricing page (1 unit = $0.14 list price); BytePlus ModelArk pricing, which bills by tokens — the figures are BytePlus's own estimates for a 5-second 16:9 clip without video input; Runway's API pricing ($0.01 per credit, including its Veo 3.1 rates); MiniMax's pay-as-you-go pricing; OpenAI's API deprecations page.
How to read those numbers
- Resolution is the biggest multiplier, and it varies by model.Seedance 2.0 costs about 2.5× more at 1080p than at 720p ($0.37 vs $0.15). Kling 3.0 at 4K ($0.42) is 5× its silent 720p rate ($0.084).
- Audio can be extra. Kling 3.0 charges 50% more with native audio ($0.126 vs $0.084 at 720p), and Runway's API bills Veo 3.1 at 40 credits per second with audio and 20 without — double.
- The same model costs different amounts at different sellers. Seedance 2.0 at 720p is about $0.15 per second on BytePlus but 30 credits ($0.30) per second through Runway's API — twice as much.
- Failures aren't the expensive part — misses are. A clip that renders fine but isn't what you wanted is billed in full everywhere.
What AI video apps actually charge: pricing by plan
The per-second numbers above are API list prices for calling a model directly. Most people instead pay for an app's subscription. Here's what a roughly 5-second clip costs on each app's own plans, checked directly on each company's pricing page on November 1, 2026:
| App & plan | Price | Credits / month | ~5-second clip |
|---|---|---|---|
| Runway Standard | $15/month | 625 | $1.44 |
| Runway Max | $95/month | 9,500 | $0.60 |
| Pika Starter | $10/month | 900 | $1.36 |
| Pika Creator | $35/month | 3,150 | $1.36 |
| Luma Plus | $30/month | 10,000 | $1.20 |
| Luma Ultra | $300/month | 150,000 | $0.80 |
| AI Growth Kit Starter Pack | $9 one-time | 200 | $2.25 |
| AI Growth Kit Power Pack | $59 one-time | 1,800 | $1.64 |
| AI Growth Kit Pro plan | $49/month | 2,000 | $1.23 |
These clips aren't identical: Runway's figure is a Gen-4.5 clip, Pika's is its own quoted 720p Seedance 2.5 example, Luma's is a 1080p Ray3 clip, and AI Growth Kit's rate is flat across every model in its Video Generator. Runway and Pika both cut 20% off the monthly price for annual billing (Runway Max falls to $0.48/clip, Pika to $1.08); Luma's annual billing saves about 17% (Ultra falls to $0.67). AI Growth Kit has no subscription discount, but Starter/Pro/Power Pack credits never expire, while Runway Standard and Pro, Pika's plans and our own Pro plan reset their credits every month whether you use them or not (Runway Max carries up to one month over). Kling AI's own pricing page renders entirely in JavaScript with no plan prices in the page source, so it isn't in this table — check klingai.com directly for current Kling app pricing. Google doesn't sell Veo generation as its own plan either; access is bundled into paid Gemini subscriptions (a limited Veo 3.1 Lite trial on the Pro tier, full Veo 3.1 access on Ultra) — see our Veo 3 pricing guide for that breakdown. Sources: runway.com/pricing, pika.art/pricing, lumalabs.ai/pricing.
How those plan prices break down per second
Apps sell credits, so divide the price by the seconds those credits buy. As of November 1, 2026:
- Runway — Gen-4.5 uses 12 credits per second. Standard ($15/month, 625 credits) buys 52 seconds: $15 ÷ 52 = $0.29 per second. Pro ($35, 2,250 credits) buys 187.5 seconds, $0.19 per second. Max ($95, 9,500 credits) buys 791 seconds, $0.12 per second. Annual billing takes 20% off. Other models use more credits: Seedance 2.0 Pro at 1080p is 160 credits per 4 seconds, so Max buys 237.5 seconds of it — $0.40 per second.
- Pika — Starter is $10/month for 900 credits and Creator $35/month for 3,150 (both $0.0111 per credit). Pika's own table prices a 5-second 720p Seedance 2.5 clip at 122 credits: 122 × ($10 ÷ 900) = $1.36, or $0.27 per second. Top-ups are 60 credits per $1, which makes the same clip $2.03 ($0.41 per second). Every paid plan, Starter included, comes with a commercial license; the free plan doesn't.
- Luma — Plus is $30/month for 10,000 credits, Pro $90 for 40,000, and Ultra $300 for 150,000 (all $0.003, $0.00225 and $0.002 per credit respectively — the rate improves with the plan, unlike Pika's flat rate). A 5-second 1080p clip on Luma's Ray3 model costs 400 credits: $1.20 on Plus, $0.90 on Pro, $0.80 on Ultra — or $1.00/$0.75/$0.67 on the equivalent annual plans.
- AI Growth Kit — every model in the Video Generator (Seedance 2.0, Kling 3.0, Veo 3.1, Grok Video, Happy Horse 1.0) costs 10 credits per second at 720p or 1080p, for clips of 3–15 seconds depending on the model (Veo 3.1 makes 4, 6 or 8; Grok Video 6 or 10). What a second costs depends on how you buy credits:
| How you buy | Price | Credits | Per credit | Per second | 5-second clip |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starter Pack (one-time) | $9 | 200 | $0.045 | $0.45 | $2.25 |
| Pro Pack (one-time) | $29 | 750 | $0.0387 | $0.39 | $1.93 |
| Power Pack (one-time) | $59 | 1,800 | $0.0328 | $0.33 | $1.64 |
| Starter plan | $19/month | 600 | $0.0317 | $0.32 | $1.58 |
| Pro plan | $49/month | 2,000 | $0.0245 | $0.245 | $1.23 |
The free tier's 20 credits don't cover a generation: the shortest clip, 3 seconds, is 30 credits. For a longer continuous shot, Video Extend continues a clip by 4–15 seconds with Seedance 2.0 at the same 10 credits per added second. Because the rate is flat, how it compares depends on what you would otherwise buy: it's 3–6× the list price of a budget model like Seedance 2.0 Mini or MiniMax H3 ($0.08 per second at 720p-class) and within the range of premium list prices such as Veo 3.1 with audio ($0.40 on Runway's API) or Seedance 2.0 at 1080p ($0.37).
Worked examples
1. One 10-second shot, three attempts
That's 30 seconds of generated video.
- Seedance 2.0 Mini at 720p: 30 × $0.08 = $2.40
- Kling 3.0 at 1080p, no audio: 30 × $0.112 = $3.36
- Veo 3.1 with audio on Runway's API: 30 × $0.40 = $12.00
- AI Growth Kit, any model: 30 × 10 = 300 credits. At the Pro Pack rate, 300 × ($29 ÷ 750) = $11.60; at the Pro plan rate, 300 × $0.0245 = $7.35.
2. A 30-second ad: six 5-second shots, three attempts each
18 generations × 5 seconds = 90 seconds.
- Every attempt on Veo 3.1 with audio (Runway's API): 90 × $0.40 = $36.00.
- Draft on Veo 3.1 Fast without audio, then render the six finals on Veo 3.1 with audio: 12 drafts × 5 s × $0.10 = $6.00, plus 6 finals × 5 s × $0.40 = $12.00. Total $18.00, half the cost.
- On AI Growth Kit switching models doesn't change the rate, so the equivalent move is shorter drafts: 12 drafts of 3 seconds on Kling 3.0 or Happy Horse 1.0, the two models that go that short (36 s × 10 = 360 credits), plus 6 finals at 5 seconds (300 credits) = 660 credits instead of 900. At the Pro Pack rate that's 660 × ($29 ÷ 750) = $25.52 instead of $34.80, and one Pro Pack (750 credits) covers it.
3. A month of B-roll: 480 seconds
Four videos a month, 12 shots each, 5 seconds per shot, two attempts: 4 × 12 × 5 × 2 = 480 seconds.
- Seedance 2.0 Mini at 720p: 480 × $0.08 = $38.40
- Kling 3.0 at 1080p, no audio: 480 × $0.112 = $53.76
- Runway Gen-4.5 on the Max plan: 480 × 12 = 5,760 of the plan's 9,500 credits, so $95 for the month (Pro's 2,250 credits would run out after 187 seconds)
- Veo 3.1 with audio on Runway's API: 480 × $0.40 = $192.00
- AI Growth Kit: 480 × 10 = 4,800 credits. Three Power Packs (3 × 1,800 = 5,400 credits) cost 3 × $59 = $177.
At this volume a single-model subscription or a direct API beats our flat rate unless you would otherwise pay premium list prices: the same month on Veo 3.1 with audio through Runway's API costs $192.
Costs the per-second price doesn't show
- Prepayment. Kling's API is sold in prepaid packs: a trial pack at $14 list for 100 units (valid 30 days) or standard packs from $700 for 5,000 units (valid 180 days, no rollover). Extra Runway credits have a 1,000-credit minimum purchase. Gemini Omni Flash, the Gemini API's replacement for Veo, has no free tier.
- Per-generation minimums. Runway's API charges at least 80 credits ($0.80) per Seedance 2.5 generation and 56 credits per Aleph 2 generation, so very short clips cost more per second.
- Expiring credits. Runway's Standard and Pro monthly credits don't roll over (Max carries up to one month; purchased credits never expire). Pika's plan credits don't roll over and its top-ups expire 365 days after purchase. Kling's monthly credits last 31 days, purchased ones two years. Budget for what you'll use this month, not for what the plan includes.
- Commercial rights by tier. Pika includes a commercial license from Starter ($10/month) up but not on its free plan, and Kling grants commercial use to paid subscribers. A free plan isn't always one you can use for client work.
- Failed jobs. AI Growth Kit refunds the credits of tasks that fail on our side within 24 hours.
- Model retirement. Sora 2's shutdown is a reason not to prepay a year of any single model.
Which option is cheapest for you
- You can call an API and mostly use one model: go direct. Seedance 2.0 Mini, MiniMax H3 and Kling 3.0 have the lowest text-to-video list prices in the table, $0.08–$0.084 per second at 720p-class resolution.
- You live in one app's own model: buy that app's biggest plan you'll actually use up. Runway Max works out to $0.12 per second of Gen-4.5.
- Low or irregular volume, several models, no code: a shared credit balance without a subscription. Our packs are one-time purchases and every model costs the same 10 credits per second, so the flat rate compares best against premium list prices and worst against budget tiers.
- Whatever you pick: draft short, cap attempts at two or three per shot, and render the final length only once the prompt is locked.
Try it
The Video Generator shows the credit cost of a clip before you generate it, and Pricing lists every pack and plan. For per-shot prompts and what each B-roll clip costs, see our AI B-roll guide; if you want to know what can be done for free, read Is there a free AI video generator?